A recent national study flagged the UT School of Social Work as endorsing ideological positions, which the school's dean said is false.

The National Association of Scholars, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote academic freedom and a diversity of ideas, released a study last September that profiled schools of social work in 10 of the largest public universities in the nation, UT being one of them. The study focused on what the publication called "ideological indoctrination" or the forcing of beliefs on individuals.

Ashley Thorne, director of communications for the National Association of Scholars, said the information they found sparked a "red light signal" to the association.

Thorne said the study was conducted because the Council of Social Work Education is the only national accrediting organization for social work schools and the association alleges the council has flawed bylaws.

According to Thorne, the agency forces students to "endorse a set of ideological, social and political positions" in order to receive credit and graduate from a social work program.

Barbara White, dean of the UT School of Social Work, said the allegations against the Council of Social Work Education and the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, as well as the schools of social work around the country, are "totally false."

"Being a former president of both of these organizations, I can tell you these allegations have no basis in fact," White said. "When this organization purported to do research, they were looking at curriculum and Web sites only and not the school itself."

White said the dominant theme surrounding the study was "antithetical" to the purpose of the school.

"We do not advocate any particular positions and definitely do not force them on our students," White said. "Our profession is geared toward the issue of people working for justice and equality. And our responsibility is to serve the community."

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